In interviews with NBC News, 10 current and former meth users described how modern-day social media platforms and communication tools like Zoom have fundamentally changed the experience of people using - and trying to get sober from - methamphetamine.
Despite that fact, meth-focused online behavior is openly thriving. While the internet has long been home to groups of drug users and sellers, prosecutors and law enforcement are now increasingly targeting these groups.
During that same time period, noncocaine stimulant overdoses nearly tripled, in part due to meth use. National Institutes of Health, frequent meth use increased by 66 percent between 20. The growth of these communities has coincided with a meth boom in the U.S.
With a mixed bag of policies pertaining to drug content that varies by platform, users have found numerous venues where they can post photos and videos of themselves using methamphetamine, sell drugs and encourage other people to use meth. As nearly all social media platforms and tech companies have trended toward increased platform moderation amid heightened scrutiny from watchdogs, meth users have attracted little attention as they build online communities of tens of thousands of people.
